Andre Dozzell’s first goal for QPR helped secure a 2-0 victory that leaves winless Middlesbrough at the foot of the Sky Bet Championship.
Dozzell’s powerful strike from outside the area two minutes before half-time put Gareth Ainsworth’s side in command at the Riverside.
And the 24-year-old midfielder, who moved to Loftus Road two years ago from Ipswich, was among the celebrations 19 minutes from time when Jack Colback hammered in the QPR’s second.
It was a much-needed second victory of the season for QPR but one that has left Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough without a win in five league games.
Neither side posed a threat to either of the goalkeepers in the opening exchanges, despite QPR finding the space down the flanks.
Ilias Chair, who remained at QPR despite reported transfer window interest from Leicester, was involved down the left a couple of times in the opening few minutes.
The Morocco international was able to get to the byline and pick out a team-mate in the area on both occasions without troubling former Rs keeper Seny Dieng’s net.
When QPR did push forward through Chair, Kenneth Paal or Paul Smyth down the opposite flank, Middlesbrough were alert to prevent shots hitting the target.
And it was a similar story in the opposite direction, where Isaiah Jones, Sammy Silvera and Morgan Rogers looked the most likely to create something early on for the hosts.
But the only real chance of note in the first 40 minutes was when Jones controlled a Silvera pass before his shot was stopped by the foot of Asmir Begovic.
That arrived in the 25th minute and Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath was also denied by Begovic 10 minutes later when he tried to beat him from a tight angle.
Smyth highlighted what danger he could pose when he worked his way into the area from the right and his low delivery across the six-yard box was crying out for Sinclair Armstrong to stretch to meet the ball, but it evaded him.
Another Smyth run caused panic in the home defence seconds before Dozzell found himself in loads of space 25 yards from goal. The midfielder’s thunderous drive crashed in off the left-hand post to put QPR ahead.
And in the sixth minute of stoppage time Begovic dived to his right to turn away a downward Darragh Lenihan header from Jonny Howson’s free-kick to keep the visitors in front.
After the restart frustrations started to grow for Middlesbrough.
Lath, who had already been denied by Begovic again, wasted a fantastic situation when Boro had a three-against-one on a counter-attack. QPR were gifted the ball, broke and Dieng prevented Sinclair from scoring at the other end.
Middlesbrough handed second-half appearances to new signings Sam Greenwood and Lewis O’Brien following loan moves from Leeds and Nottingham Forest respectively.
And Begovic was on hand once more to prevent Lath scoring after the striker linked up with Silvera in the penalty area on the hour.
Soon after a phantom whistle brought a short interruption in play, QPR had the important second goal.
Smyth again got to the line and beyond full-back Lukas Engel. His low cross led to Chair’s shot being blocked before former Newcastle and Sunderland midfielder Colback powered his drive into the net, and there was no way back for Boro after that.
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
